I wear two hats in my world: I am both an investigative attorney and physical security/communications expert. For the past forty years, I have worked investigations, both criminal and civil, first for government agencies and then private corporate clients. These cases have mainly involved major insurance fraud, heists, technology related crimes, exploits of communications systems, and other offenses, some terrible and others more mundane. I also work for many of the major lock manufacturers in the world and run a team that figures out how to compromise these locks in seconds, then fix them. My story was pretty much summed up by Wired Magazine in a feature article in 2009, when I was dubbed the "Keymaster." I have always believed that full disclosure of security vulnerabilities in locks and related systems should be the rule, unless it involves national security, in order that the consumer, business sector and government understand potential risks. I solicit your input at mwtobias@security.org and your comments on my blog. My security website is www.security.org and my security blog is in.security.org

How U.S. Carriers Fool You Into Thinking Your iPhone 4S Is Unlocked

The dual-mode iPhone 4S is a billed as a universal phone, but only if purchased from Apple.

If you ask most cell phone users what they understand the term “unlocked phone” to mean, they will likely tell you that it is exactly what it says: that you can use the phone on any cell carrier anywhere. Well, this is not exactly true with the iPhone 4S.

The iPhone 4S is the first device produced by Apple that is a dual-mode phone. This means the iPhone can theoretically be used on any CDMA or GSM network, in any country. In the United States CDMA is the protocol for Verizon and Sprint, while GSM is used by AT&T and T-Mobile. Internationally there are about 40 CDMA countries and more than 220 GSM venues. International phones have to accommodate different protocols and frequency bands for voice and data services, depending upon carrier and location. The 4S meets this requirement almost everywhere.

Apple did a very smart thing when they designed the 4S. Rather than having to produce a GSM version and a CDMA version of their popular phone as they had done in the past, they combined the two protocols in one chip set, which should save the company potentially billions of dollars, and make distribution and logistics infinitely simpler. It also means that the consumer only needs one phone to travel anywhere in the world, absent a lack of roaming agreements between their home carrier and the system they are trying to use while out of the country.

Last month I purchased an iPhone 4S from Best BuyMobile for use on my Verizon account. I paid full retail so there would be no restrictions from Verizon with regard to unlocking the handset. My intent was to run tests in Europe and the U.S. to determine if the phone would perform as well as competitive CDMA-GSM phones that I have used (Android and Blackberry). Initially, my focus was on how well Apple handled the different issues required for roaming on foreign carriers and whether the Apple iOS 5 offered the same level of connectivity and data options that Android and Blackberry provide.

Verizon registered the phone on both their CDMA network and the pre-installed Verizon-Vodafone GSM SIM card so I could roam internationally as a Verizon customer. I contacted technical support before leaving for Europe to have the phone unlocked. Verizon stated that I would have to meet certain conditions in order to unlock the phone.

These were: I had to be a Verizon Wireless customer. The device had to be active on a Verizon line (unless I was upgrading from an older global phone that had a 3G unlocked SIM for at least two months). My line of service had to be active for at least 60 days and the account had to be in “good standing” for the past 60 days (meaning a current balance and no service suspensions in the past 60 days). Only one unlock per line every 10 months.

What this rigamarole means is that a non-Verizon customer cannot unlock a phone they purchased from someone other than Verizon, nor can a customer that has only subscribed to the service for less than sixty days, even if the phone number was ported from another carrier. If you upgraded a handset which has been active for at least two months then the phone can be unlocked.

Verizon Rules regarding the use of unlocked phones

While Verizon does not specifically address just exactly what an unlocked phone really means, they do require a customer to agree to a number of conditions. It is somewhat perplexing that this particular carrier seems to think they can regulate the use of your phone on foreign carriers that are not allied with Verizon, especially where prepaid SIM cards are used. I especially find this condition, below, rather perplexing because it indicates that Verizon maintains control over your phone and usage even if you are not using their network.

You agree that, to the extent applicable when using Other SIM Cards, Your use of the Global Phone remains subject to Your Verizon Wireless Customer Agreement, Calling Plan and Global Phone terms and conditions, including without limitation, the requirement to abide by all applicable foreign laws when using the Global Phone outside of the United States.

If you try to insert a SIM card from a U.S. GSM carrier into an iPhone that was purchased from AT&T, Sprint, or Verizon, this or a similar message will be displayed and the use of the SIM is blocked.

Unlocking your Iphone 4S

Among the three major carriers operating in the U.S., only one, AT&T, will not unlock any iPhone. Because I purchased a Verizon-designated handset, the following information relates to those customers that purchase Verizon iPhones, but the technology and result is the same for any carrier.

When I called Verizon tech support to unlock my phone prior to leaving the U.S., I was told that I had to have a foreign SIM card installed in order to complete the process and that the phone would have to log in to the Verizon network on WiFi. The reason for this procedure is that the phone must validate the foreign SIM.

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This is eye opening article. I am in Japan and the carrier i use for my iPhone does not sim unlock the iPhone for whatever reasons. Its a paper weight once I finish my contract (I did for iPhone 4 and Now I have 4S). Unlike this Docomo does fully sim unlock and I have tested in Japan with other sim cards and also tried with other country SIM card when I travelled……..Apple needs some serious polilcy change…..

Did you read the last part of the article??? He goes on and on about you MUST purchase your iphone directly from Apple online or in one of the Apple store to truly have an unlocked iphone. So yes, if you purchase directly from Apple you are safe.

True but the only carriers available to will be AT&T or T-Mobile. A fully unlocked iPhone 4S from the Apple Store cannot be used on either Verizon or Sprint per their corporate policies even though it is technically capable of doing so. It has been Sprint’s policy for ages to never activate a phone on their network that they did not originally sell (used Sprint phone purchased off eBay for example are fine). Used Verizon phones, that use the same CDMA technology and are frequency compatible, will not be allowed to be used.

Great article and I agree with your frustrations, however there is an error in your article. When you went to BB you bought a full price unsubsidized VZ iPhone, not an US carrier unlocked iPhone. Unlocked iPhones were only recently introduced in the US with the iPhone 4 and if memory serves me pretty long after launch. In the US you can only buy a unlocked phone direct from Apple and it wasn’t available until 6 weeks after launch. If you bought a full price phone for use on any US network from anyone including Apple, you got a US carrier locked phone. I can understand why you may have been confused because you assumed that a full price phone should have been unlocked. Fortunately for me I researched this thoroughly and waited to purchase an unlocked direct from Apple.

Note that the Apple unlocked phone will not work on Verizon or Sprint, however. It can run only on AT&T, T-Mobile, or local GSM carriers. On T-Mobile it will work only on their 2G network because T-Mobile uses a different 3G frequency from AT&T.

Apple is extremely clear with this on their online store. Unlike the carriers, where you will be lucky to even get the correct information, particularly with more device oriented (as opposed to network oriented) questions.

I have often wondered why anyone would buy an iPhone from ATT or VZ store, or even Radio Shack, Best Buy etc… Bet you a dollar that those last two resellers lock the device for the contract they are selling you as well. The people working there know next to nothing about the device and are, in my experience, usually routinely giving out incorrect advice. The last time I heard this, I almost blurted out how wrong the guy was about Applecare.

Most carriers would rather sell you the Android junk since it’s cheaper for them to purchase, they charge you the same price or even more. They only offer iPhone so that they don’t lose contracts, since that is the phone that most people want.

Why would anyone buy from a carrier, except perhaps it’s a closer drive and they may have them in stock whereas the Apple store could be out of stock. Or they think it would be easier since they are going to have to deal with the carrier anyway. But it really pays to go to the Apple store (or online Apple store) and see for yourself. They can and will demonstrate anything for you at the retail store, and if you are a PC user all your life, you might also take a minute to see what you have been missing out on WRT computing as well.

Excellent article. I have emailed it to everyone at my company and yes, I agree, it certainly sounds like a misrepresentation. We have been selling unlocked phones for years and, by definition, an unlocked phone will work with any carrier’s SIM card. Unfortunately, telecoms are among the largest lobbyists one the planet and they get away with way to much.

I’ve got news for the author of this article: even the unlocked iPhone 4S models sold by Apple aren’t completely carrier-independent: they’re sold as unlocked *GSM* phones, which means that they’ll never work with Verizon or Sprint or any other CDMA carrier.